Anyone here do construction or remodeling?

I'm sure you need a permit if adding any electrical. I don't think you'll find a licensed electrician that will do it without unless you have a friend that will.

Agreed, you need permits because if anything goes wrong, like an electrical fire, your insurance will look to get out of paying you.

For me, I have a septic system, and if I added another bathroom or bedroom, and the town found out, I would owe some huge fines. Then when reselling the house no way would it pass inspection as the septic system would fail due to too many bedrooms and/or batbrooms.

Just be careful...and why I recommended the Lego wall, a temporary structure that will not violate any building codes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CodaMan and Chris
Aren't those Simpson screw anchors meant for concrete and masonry? That's what it says in their description at least. I'm not 100% sure there's concreted under this area, particularly where the new wall will be going. I believe it's just typical plywood floor.



Thanks I appreciate that greatly!



Makes sense, I'll lose that train of thought!



There's a stud at the top soffit, a stud on the right hand side, but none on the left hand side, so you're right!



Interesting, I didn't know about those "party walls" until now. That may be overkill. I just wanted to keep as much sound out of the room as possible, as this "room" is right next to the kitchen and entry way to the house, so I wanted it to be as quiet as it can be. I'm going to use a solid core door for that reason. I think however that a typical wall should probably keep it quiet enough in there. No one here has parties, so it's probably going to be fine the way it is.

More later but to clarify, a party wall isn't for parties, it is because it is party to two adjoining areas that need sound reduction and or higher insulation value.
 
More later but to clarify, a party wall isn't for parties, it is because it is party to two adjoining areas that need sound reduction and or higher insulation value.

Haha... that's funny, because in my mind I was thinking "Makes sense, you always get those obnoxious neighbors in apartment complexes who like to throw loud parties!".

Glad you clarified that for me, it makes more sense now.

I nixed the insulation idea after reading enough online to determine that insulation shouldn't be necessary for an interior wall.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
Aren't those Simpson screw anchors meant for concrete and masonry? That's what it says in their description at least. I'm not 100% sure there's concreted under this area, particularly where the new wall will be going. I believe it's just typical plywood floor.

If plywood subfloor, then simple Torx Drive construction screws about 12-18" apart staggered will be plenty. If you get the Spax washer head in 3" x 1/4" that will be perfect.




Interesting, I didn't know about those "party walls" until now. That may be overkill. I just wanted to keep as much sound out of the room as possible, as this "room" is right next to the kitchen and entry way to the house, so I wanted it to be as quiet as it can be. I'm going to use a solid core door for that reason. I think however that a typical wall should probably keep it quiet enough in there. No one here has parties, so it's probably going to be fine the way it is.

Yes, typically overkill and just insulating it does very little.
 
That is a return air vent for the HVAC. What I believe I'm going to have to do there is go up into the attic and shorten the tube for that return vent by about 2 feet. If I do that, it will then come out on the other side of the wall (so it wouldn't be in this new "room"), which is right in main hallway.

Duct, or duct work, not tube.

I've had 4 contractors come quote me on this room project, and each one had a different solution.

One guy said to leave it where it is, it's fine. The other guy said to leave it there but install another return air vent in the main hallway by tapping into that duct in the attic.

The other guy said to move it to the center of that soffit so it's above the new door to the room.

Basically everyone seems to have a different opinion on this.

I see most return air supplies in main hallways but I know diddly about HVAC.





But this of course only applies to existing interior walls, right? I say that because I'm not going to have a concrete section under that dining room area, as there was never a wall there to begin with. I thought that the concrete walls in a foundation typically matched the location of the interior walls in the house that sits on top of it?

Just depends on the type of construction it is. There are almost no SoCal homes built that are not slab on grade for the first floor unless they are going down a hillside. Two story is what it sounds like you are dealing with or a raised floor over a crawl space.



I thought I would cut out the carpet and carpet padding in the area where the new wall is going. Are you saying I can just mount the bottom plate right on top of the carpet?

Yep, lay it out, cut it to length, screw it down right over your carpet and plastic. We've done lots of remodel, addition, new construction, kitchen, commercial, and TI work. Plastic sheeting about 6 mil and Ram Board are your new best friends.



Yeah, I had considered bi-fold doors, but I think tracks bypass doors will be easier and more friendly.

Spend a few more bucks and get some nice ones. It's worth it.
 
BTW- you didn't answer if there is enough room between the soffit and the existing opening on the right to put a wall all the way up to the other ceiling. There is a very good reason to do so. You'll have to rip off the corner bead along the bottom edge of the soffit if you try to match up the drywall and make it blend in. Plus if the soffit is not exactly plumb with the new wall, there will be a bend at the joint that you will always see. Either step the new wall back under it a couple inches so you have an obvious intentional step or go all the way to the ceiling.

If you want to try and flush it out so it looks like one wall without going all the way up, flush up the framing to the existing drywall and run the drywall all the way up to high the obvious transition.
 
Yes, those. Do you have a battery impact driver?

Yes, I have a battery impact driver and the appropriate torx bit heads.

BTW- you didn't answer if there is enough room between the soffit and the existing opening on the right to put a wall all the way up to the other ceiling. There is a very good reason to do so. You'll have to rip off the corner bead along the bottom edge of the soffit if you try to match up the drywall and make it blend in. Plus if the soffit is not exactly plumb with the new wall, there will be a bend at the joint that you will always see. Either step the new wall back under it a couple inches so you have an obvious intentional step or go all the way to the ceiling.

Yes, there's enough room between the the soffit and that opening on the right. It's almost as if they built that soffit to be perfectly in line with that edge of that opening / entry way, because they line up perfect.

I see what you're saying though. I'll have to pay extra attention to detail when installing that new wall to make sure that it will line up with that entry way.
 
Yes, I have a battery impact driver and the appropriate torx bit heads.



Yes, there's enough room between the the soffit and that opening on the right. It's almost as if they built that soffit to be perfectly in line with that edge of that opening / entry way, because they line up perfect.
Get a good level. Rest the top end against the soffit and plumb a line on the wall straight down and post up a picture.
 
Get a good level. Rest the top end against the soffit and plumb a line on the wall straight down and post up a picture.

Will do! I need to get a better level. Mine isn't up to the task and may very well be inaccurate.

I'll stop by Home Depot and get a better one.
 
Will do! I need to get a better level. Mine isn't up to the task and may very well be inaccurate.

I'll stop by Home Depot and get a better one.
When you get a plumb line up the wall at the lower corner of the soffit, push the level up to the higher ceiling and see if the soffit is going to line up with the new wall without an obvious defect. If so, then all you have to do is beat the corner bead of the lower corner of the soffit, pull the nails and hold the top plate of the new wall directly lined up with the inside of the existing drywall.

This is stick framing with pressure blocks. This is used when you can't readily or easily nail a wall together and stand it up.
Lay your bottom plate perfectly in line with the upper line you pick and screw it down to the floor. You'll have to use an oscillating tool and cut your baseboard back to 1/2" short of the lower plate on both sides.

Once that is in place, cut the top plate and glue, screw, nail it up.
Carefully measure the distance between the top and bottom plates and cut a stud that is about 1/16" too long. Set the lower end on the plate, line it up to the sides and then with a small sledge beat the top of it over against the wall, line it up with glue behind it, straight line it and just put some screw or nails in it to hold it until the glue sets up. Toe nail the top and bottom to the existing framing in the corners.

The pressure blocks have a two fold function. You suck at normal toenailing so don't even try. Do a 16" on center lay out down the wall's bottom plates. Step by step, butt your tape measure into the wall (wall, not new stud) on the left side, read over to the 16" line and make a mark 3/4" back or 15 1/4" and mark that with a small arrow and an X on the right side of the line so it looks like this ^X. Come back with your square when you are done and make a line across the plate through the point on the ^ and the X will tell you which side of the line the stud goes on.

Butt the end of your tape measure into the stud you nailed up and measure over to the line and cut a block exactly that length and nail it down. Put the first nail in and then smack it over tight against the stud. Put 3-4 nails in it staggered and not lined up so they don't split the block. Use a plumb bob, your fancy new level etc. and transfer the end of that block up to the top plate exactly. Mark the line the same way and now cut a block the exact length. Nail it up the same way. What you have now done is start your lay-out perfectly and you'll do your 16" OC from the next stud you put up which will be the first not against the walls. Cut it the 1/16" too long or slightly less, beat it over against the block and now you can toe tail it in place with 2 16d nails that start about 1 1/2" from the end, about 5/8" in from the edges and go into the top plate at as steep an angle as you can easily nail or drive a screw at. The block holds it on lay out, gives you back at the top and the second part of the function is it gives you backing at the bottom for your baseboard.

After that, you will cut two blocks exactly 14 7/16" long, nail, tighten, finish nailing, and then cut a stud. The 14 7/16" long block will hold it perfectly on a 16" on Center lay-out. When you have all the pressure blocks and studs done, come back and put a single nail or screw from the other side right in the center of each stud.

Sounds much more complicated than it really is.

DSC_4516.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Will do! I need to get a better level. Mine isn't up to the task and may very well be inaccurate.

I'll stop by Home Depot and get a better one.
Almost forgot. You can verify the accuracy of your level for both level and plumb very easily. For plumb, put it against any vertical surface taking care to line it up in some manner that you can replicate. Read the bubble, turn the level and put the other side against the same surface in the exact same spot and the bubble should read exactly the same. If it doesn't and does not have adjustable vials, you now have a nice straight edge. Level is the same, find a surface, take a reading, flip it 180, it should read exactly the same.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Rotted end of post.
DSC_4503.JPG


Framing and walls in progress. Yes, that is how they built the floor. 2x6 laid flat under 5/8" plywood. I could never understand why it was spongy when I walked on it. Also, you can see the end post is buried in concrete, what you can't see is the end is about 8" below the top of concrete.
DSC_4499.JPG

Done with the pony walls and rough framing.
DSC_4511.JPG

We now have all the posts out of the dirt, up on elevated column bases by Simpson. Due to the difficulties in laying out a stepped CMU foundation, I opted to just form the two walls on the right side and do them in reinforced poured in place concrete.

The pony walls are solid grouted #4 rebar every other course horizontally and every other cell vertically.
DSC_4519.JPG
Another reason you do stick framing is when the distance between the upper and lower areas varies and you want the wall to follow both nicely and support the upper with a lot of load.

This entire back wall is under what was originally an open deck. Unfortunately the "builders" failed at any water mitigation and the 6x6 posts were in dirt or buried in concrete which caused them to rot and most of that outside face of the deck and laundry room sunk roughly 2".

I designed a pony wall of sorts over an 18" x 12" footing for the low height CMU wall with round column post supports done first and then we built the short CMU wall between each column. We had to jack up the deck beams, hold it up, remove the post, dig the footing for the column, pour the column, set the post base and then cut the post to length to get rid of the rotted end, and then install the post.

Each framed wall was a different height, each stud was a different length due to some bizarre framing shenanigans.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
@mrblaine,

I'm assuming you use air tools, right? Have you ever tried the lithium ion, cordless finish nailers?

I was thinking of purchasing one, but just wanted to see if anyone such as yourself had any real world opinions of them.
 
@mrblaine,

I'm assuming you use air tools, right? Have you ever tried the lithium ion, cordless finish nailers?

I was thinking of purchasing one, but just wanted to see if anyone such as yourself had any real world opinions of them.
I use air nail guns. I have a framing nailer, 3 finish nailers, a pin nailer and a micro pin nailer. Have not used cordless but I need to try one.
 
I use air nail guns. I have a framing nailer, 3 finish nailers, a pin nailer and a micro pin nailer. Have not used cordless but I need to try one.

Usually I'd opt for Milwaukee, but in the case of the cordless nail guns, they seem to be getting very poor ratings on Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

The one that seems very highly reviewed is this Dewalt:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF8KV58/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Usually I'd opt for Milwaukee, but in the case of the cordless nail guns, they seem to be getting very poor ratings on Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

The one that seems very highly reviewed is this Dewalt:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF8KV58/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I use the Milwaukee M18 platform tools, not a nail gun, but last weekend my hammer drill chuck locked up as I was drilling into poured concrete, so I need to get a rotary hammer, and when looking at the M18 lineup, there are many options. The nail gun is similar, as this place, acme, has 8 models listed, with reviews all over the board...and same with home depot. Just make sure you are looking up the correct model as some come with batteries, others do not, etc. If the nail gun has a Fuel or non-Fuel option, the non-Fuel is inferior to the Fuel. Basically a brushless motor for a brush motor. A model number ending in -20 means a tool only.

So some reviewers may negatively review based on the fact that no battery came with the tool. Take a deeper dive into the models and which one you want, and also what the 1 star reviewers are crapping on.

http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools...ageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:24&


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...2-0Ah-Battery-Charger-Bag-2743-21CT/206862850
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
I use the Milwaukee M18 platform tools, not a nail gun, but last weekend my hammer drill chuck locked up as I was drilling into poured concrete, so I need to get a rotary hammer, and when looking at the M18 lineup, there are many options. The nail gun is similar, as this place, acme, has 8 models listed, with reviews all over the board...and same with home depot. Just make sure you are looking up the correct model as some come with batteries, others do not, etc. If the nail gun has a Fuel or non-Fuel option, the non-Fuel is inferior to the Fuel. Basically a brushless motor for a brush motor. A model number ending in -20 means a tool only.

So some reviewers may negatively review based on the fact that no battery came with the tool. Take a deeper dive into the models and which one you want, and also what the 1 star reviewers are crapping on.

http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools...ageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:24&


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...2-0Ah-Battery-Charger-Bag-2743-21CT/206862850

This is the one I had been looking at before the DeWalt:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Gauge-Brad-Nailer-Tool-Only-2740-20/206862842

And here it is on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DE8ZE28/?tag=wranglerorg-20

The reviews don't look very good compared to the DeWalt.

Needless to say I'm iffy after reading a lot of the reviews, particularly on the Home Depot website.

The one you linked to has good reviews, but that's for 15 gauge nails, which seem maybe a bit too much for finishing trim, no?

You tell me? Given the choice between 15, 16, and 18 gauge nails, which ones would be ideal for installing doors, door trim, base molding, window trim, etc.?
 
I also use air powered nailers. I own a framing nailer and two sizes of finish nailers and a sweet, wide crown, upholstery stapler.

Just a thought if you go the air route for your framing nailer.
I bought mine used from a shop here in Phoenix that repairs nail guns for framing carpenters that use them daily. I bought one of rebuilt units that the shop kept on hand as a loaner for their customers can’t be without their guns. At the time it was about 2/3 the cost of the cheapest, new gun from HD. Mine is a pro quality unit and has worked flawlessly for the last 15 years. Granted I don’t use it daily but it has had a real work out on a number of occasions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris